EL PASO - Redshirt junior guard Jabari Rice finished with a team-high 17 points, the NM State men's basketball team chipped a 12-point second-half lead by California Baptist all the way down to four with 7:40 to go, but the Lancers offensive potency made all the difference down the stretch as the Aggies dropped an 85-75 WAC decision Friday night at Eastwood High School.

FIRST HALF
• For the third-straight game, the Aggies came out of the gates exceptionally strong. Clayton Henry, Johnny McCants, Jabari Rice and Donnie Tillman provided all of NM State's offense through its 14-6 run to start the game.
• Eager to put an end to their three-game skid against the Aggies, the Lancers answered with a 13-4 run of their own. That surge culminated with a Malik Wade which put California Baptist up 19-18 with 10:56 left in the half, but reigning WAC Player of the Week Reed Nottage canned a pair of three-pointers to help kick-start his team's comeback.
• The lead changed times six more times through the remainder of the frame, with the Lancers building it up to as many as seven points on their end before NM State answered back. Tre
Armstrong connected on a three-pointer before adding an old-fashioned three-point play on the Lancers' next possession which put the Aggies at a 33-26 disadvantage with 4:30 on the clock.
• NM State set up shop behind the arc to get back on top as Henry and Evan Gilyard II each swished two triples which represented the Aggies' entire point total during a 12-4 run that put them up 38-37 with 2:32 to go.
• Painted area scores by Malik Wade and Elijah Thomas, however, helped the visitors end the game on a 4-0 run. As a result, California Baptist led 41-38 at the break.

SECOND HALF
• NM State was never able to jump back in front for the rest of the night as California Baptist kept the Aggies' at arms length with a heavy dose of paint touches.
• The closest the Aggies got was when Gilyard II drilled another three-pointer 2:09 into the frame which cut the Lancers' lead to 45-43.
• From there, CBU big man Gorjok Gak answered with a three-point play and the Lancers kept their foot on the gas. With NM State down 58-52, the Lancers unleashed a 6-0 spurt culminating with a three-ball by Nottage to make matters 64-52 with 10:30 left.
• Rice tried to will his squad back into the game, accounting for all but two points during an 8-0 NM State run which trimmed the Lancers' edge to 64-60.
• Unfortunately, the Aggies just couldn't keep the Lancers out of the paint - or off the scoreboard. Thomas manufactured back-to-back buckets on consecutive CBU possessions by going to work on the Aggies' post defenders. Those scores hiked the Lancers' lead to 75-65 with 4:38 left.
• After NM State made it a seven-point game with a Johnny McCants jumper in the paint, Nottage effectively finished things off for the Lancers with his fifth and final three-pointer of the game which put his team up 81-71 with 1:30 left.
• California Baptist went 4-of-6 from the foul line in the last 90 seconds to lock up the win.

KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Rice was one of four Aggies who finished with 10 or more points in the team's third-straight setback. Henry, McCants and Gilyard II each chipped in 11 points while Tillman added eight.
• Henry hauled in a game-high seven rebounds, but the Lancers' offensive execution was too much for the Aggies to overcome.
• CBU put up shooting splits of .524/.421/.611 with Nottage, Armstrong and Gak doing most of the damage. Nottage went 7-of-8 from the field to finished with a game-high 19 points while Armstrong tallied 18 on a 7-of-16 night from the field.
• Gak proved to be a smooth operator down low, recording 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with six rebounds. Thomas added 11 more for the Lancers who committed just five turnovers in the loss.
• NM State redshirt freshman guard Marcus Watson made his college basketball debut, finishing the game with one rebound and a three-point field goal attempt in five minutes of action.
• The Aggies played their first of four remaining "home" games on their 2020-21 schedule at Eastwood High School. Current COVID-Safe Practices for Intercollegiate Sports in the state of New Mexico prohibit NM State from playing any games in its home state. 

COMING UP NEXT
• NM State's next chance at both its first WAC victory and its first triumph against an NCAA Division I foe in 2020-21 comes Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. The Aggies and Lancers will wrap up their two-game series then at Eastwood High School.

++NM State++